Outside Agitator: Jon Daniels and the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama

By Charles W. Eagles and Professor Charles Eagles

Book Overview

"As powerful as a lion and as soaring as an eagle, Daniels's vision remains in the pages and pictures of this volume." --Southern Cultures

Outside Agitator tells the powerful, largely forgotten story of Jonathan Daniels--a white Episcopal seminarian from New England who answered the call of the civil rights movement and paid for that commitment with his life. In 1965, Daniels left the safety of Harvard and Cambridge for Selma and Alabama's Black Belt, where he worked alongside Black activists to challenge segregation, register voters, and confront the moral failures of church and state. His murder by a white segregationist shocked the nation and exposed the deadly cost of racial injustice--and of moral courage.

More than a biography, this book asks urgent questions that still resonate: What does it mean to act on conscience in a society structured by inequality? What responsibilities do faith, citizenship, and privilege impose? Historian Charles W. Eagles places Daniels's life within the turbulent final phase of the southern civil rights movement, revealing the everyday fears, ethical dilemmas, and racial tensions behind the iconic events of Selma and Lowndes County.

Outside Agitator will appeal to readers interested in civil rights history, religious activism, Southern history, and the moral dimensions of political struggle. It is essential reading for students, scholars, clergy, and general readers seeking to understand how individual lives can illuminate--and challenge--the ongoing fight for justice and equality.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 081731069X
• ISBN13: 9780817310691
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: University of Alabama Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A soul-shaking read

I heard about Jon Daniels for the first time recently on NPR and was immediately interested. As a cradle Episcopalian and the mother of a bi-racial daughter, I wanted to know more about him. I found this book and was profoundly moved by his faith and call to Alabama. This book told me more about the Episcopal church's involvement in the civil rights movement than I had ever known before. I shall now remember him every August 14th, the day of his arrest and when he is remembered by the Episcopal Church is Lesser Feast and Fasts.

Great Book in Very Good Shape Sent Quickly

Brought the 60s back to me. Vendor did excellent job. Honest appraisal of the book's condition. Shipped right away.